Tikvat Yacov

Newsletter From Our Partners in Northern Israel

2012-01-23T01:45:00.000-08:00

The following text has been copied from River's of Living Waters' January 2012 newsletter:

We'd like to thank you for encouraging, praying, and supporting us in such a time like this. We truly had a glorious time with the Lord in December, 2011. First we had a prayer marathon in Akko, Maalot and Karmiel cities together with local believers. We all have experienced such a powerful presence of God when we were crying out for the souls to be saved, for Messiah Yeshua to be revealed to His people. In preparation for outreaches we also distributed a lot of invitations to unbelievers. The next step was having outreaches in these cities. This whole project was done in partnership with "Tikvat Yakov" humanitarian aid organization.

December, 25 we had a special Chanukah celebration in Akko. This year it fell on Christmas time. And the very next day, December, 26 in the city of Maalot we also had a big Chanukah celebration. We had to rent a hall (it's a governmental place where God gave us a favor with its director who gladly again rented it to us). People filled these places in spite of the windy and rainy weather outside. Children and adults from Karmiel participated in the program. We even had to hire transportation to bring them all from Karmiel. As an answer to all our prayers the Lord brought totally about 100 unbelievers to these meetings .Some of them shared afterwards that it was their first time when they heard about God's love and experienced His touch. They asked us to come again. Praise the Lord for all He has done!

16 years ago "Rivers of Living Water, Israel" was actually born in Karmiel as a small (3 members only) home group. Together with our spiritual parents Daniel and Delia Hale we had our first meeting. Last Saturday December, 31 we celebrated our 16th birthday anniversary of God's goodness, His mercy and great faithfulness that He has been showing us all these years. Our children blessed us with songs, dancing and with drama "Bartimaeus." It truly touched our hearts and encouraged our faith. The best part of it was when 8 people came forward to receive Yeshua as their Lord and Savior. God is so good and faithful!

We thank Him for each of you - our faithful friends, who are standing with us in good times as well as in hard times. Your prayers, support and just friendship are very dear to our hearts and encourage us to go forward in reaching our people with the love of God. As you play such a big part in God's move here in Israel we believe you are opening the door to His blessings and favor for your lives, your families and your nation. "We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers; remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father." 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3

New Year

2012-01-12T01:55:00.000-08:00

There is rarely either fun or glory in administrative work, nor is there much that one is able to share about it, but this has been the bulk of our work here in Israel as we prepare for bigger things. Much of our time in 2011 has been used preparing for 2012; getting the financial and legal papers needed, looking for a location for the Hope Center, raising the funds still needed so that we can remain in Israel, looking for partners for self-sustaining projects and continuing the work we have already started here.

Let's start by catching up on the events of 2011. We opened up two new centers, in Kiryat Shmona (Northern Israel) and Kefar Saba (Central Israel) to bring us to a total of 6 centers. We had several additional holiday events including Passover meals in Karmiel, Maalot and Akko. We made a trip to the States to raise funds and visit close friends and family. While there I attended funeral services for my Grandfather. We gave out blankets to 300 needy families during the High Holy days with Agape Ministries in Tel Aviv. Our children's Bible Club grew from 10 children to 21, and moved from our home to the facilities of a Russian-Speaking congregation in Hadera. We moved the location of our store front in Maalot, much to pleasure of our manager, since the old location had a leaky roof that was destroying the clothing. We hosted a tour group from the Assmblies of God which included the Director of International Ministries and Leadership from the Penn-Del District. We also had a special Chanukah outreach in Karmiel where many elderly Russians are coming to faith.

Although I lost my secular job here in Israel during the summer, the timing seems to have been heaven sent. It allowed me to pack our house before joining the rest of my family in the States as our previous landlords had raised our rent by close to 10%. It has also allowed my wife and I to dedicate ourselves full-time to Tikvat Yacov as the ministry is gearing up for future growth. Unfortunately, this means there is an increased urgency to raise the funds needed to support our family as this is now our only income. Please note that funds donated directly to Jacob's Hope go to support ministries around the world. To support our family in Israel, donations must be made directly to our account at Assemblies of God (click link here).

We are already on the look out to open a seventh compassion center in 2012 as well as laying the ground work for the Hope center and starting a self-sustaining ministry. As always, we will share more information as we work out the details.

Our Tabernacle in Israel

2011-10-16T04:22:00.000-07:00

We are currently celebrating the Festival of Sukkot in Israel, the Jewish Holiday where we build sukkot (sukkot has been translated as tabernacles, booths, tents or temporary dwellings). We are commanded in the Torah to live in our sukkot for seven days, eating and sleeping in them, to remind us that the Israelites had to live in these temporary dwellings for 40 years when God used Moses to bring His people out of Eygpt.
For one week each year, God commands us to sleep outside and eat outside, in the elements, outside of our comfort zone, outside of our air conditioning or heat, outside of our beds, with the bugs and mosquitos and whatever else you may encounter. This is much different from Passover when we are commanded to lounge on pillows and enjoy our freedom. We are basically being commanded to be uncomfortable.
Why, you may ask, would God command us to be uncomfortable for one week each year? In Matthew 19:24, Yeshua tells us that it is easier for a camel to walk through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter heaven. When we have money, when we are comfortable, we tend to forget who it is that is providing for our needs. We tend to trust in our own ability to take care of ourselves, rather than our own inability to overcome all things without God.
In moving to Israel, God has taken our family out of our comfort zone. This Suukkot, as our family struggles to survive in Israel, we are reminded to trust God to provide for us just as he provided for the Israelites coming out of Eygpt. We are reminded, in the uncomfortable setting of our sukkah, to remember all of those who are less fortunate than ourselves, who live lives that are less comfortable than our own. We remove the focus from our own needs, as we give those burdens to God, and we put our efforts to providing for others.
As we work in Israel, I have constantly thought of the book of Esther. I think of how Mordecai told Esther that she was put in her position for this time, so that she could save God's people, but if she did not do it, that God would save His people another way.
We have been put in a position to help those who are suffering among God's people, and we understand that if we don't do it, that God will provide for them another way. But we chose to be a part of God's plan and take part in the blessings that God has given His people.

Catching Up

2011-08-26T00:21:00.000-07:00

It has been a few months since we have posted anything on this blog, but that doesn't mean we haven't been busy. In fact, we have been to busy to stop and catch up on our blog.

So, what's happening with Tikvat Yakov in Israel?

All of our six compassion centers are fully operational and we continue to provide food bags for approximately 400 families a month and provide clothing to over 500 families a month.

In addition to being able to provide financial support, which is always welcome (and needed now more than ever - details below), you can now provide material support. Details about what type of items you can send are listed on the Jacob's Hope website, on the donations page. Material items can be sent to:

Jacob's Hope
Attn: Bryan May
5141 Craig Rath Blvd
Midlothian, VA 23112

We are also looking to purchase a building in Israel which will serve as a warehouse to store and distribute material goods for our compassion centers in Israel. It will also serve as a job training center to help needy people learn the skills needed to get employment in Israel. There will be apartments for volunteers to live in while on work trips to Israel, including building projects and healthcare projects. This facility may even be used for conferences and to house weekly congregational meetings.

We are also pursuing other opportunities here in Israel, but I'll save those details for another post once our plans have some more momentum behind them.

The High Holy Days are coming up fast and we are looking to bless the people of Israel in special ways. In Tel Aviv, we are distributing blankets with our partners Agape Ministries. In Akko, Kamiel and Maalot, we are preparing special meals with the help of Rivers of Living Waters.

Just a reminder, as always, none of these things can happen without your support, and we want to thank all of you who faithfully give to Jacob's Hope or support a Jacob's Hope Team member. Unfortunately, things have been happening so fast in Israel, that our compassion team (that's us) has not been able to raise the support needed for their salary, office and travel expenses. Even with a supplement coming from Jacob's Hope we are only able to cover about half of our budgeted salary after we have taken care of the necessary office and travel expenses.

Although, Michael had been working in order to cover our personal expenses, he lost his job this summer and has not been able to find work here. We are not even sure if he will have the time to work with all of the new projects we are looking to take on here in Israel. So, now more than ever, it is important for us to raise support. We spent a few weeks this summer speaking at a few places to raise funds, and were able to get some much needed donations, but very little in the way of the long term commitments we need in order to continue our work here.

Please consider making a long term commitment so that we can continue all of the work we have started here in Israel, and continue to bless the people in this land through all of the projects and plans that God has called us do. Please click here to fill out an online commitment form to support this ministry.

What Happened to Passover?

2011-05-06T05:54:00.001-07:00

Here we are in May already, but don't worry, Passover didn't just passover us. We had a very busy month in April with Passover. From our center in Tel Aviv, in partnership with Agape Ministries, we were able to bless 91 families with special Passover bags that had food and toiletries in them. We were also able to bless between 60 and 70 people in Karmiel with a Passover Seder Meal! Many said that it was the best Seder they have been too. Also, for many, this was the first time to here about who is the Passover Lamb.

Passover is the time that everyone cleans out their stuff. A local business heard about Tikvat Yakov and opened her doors to receive donations from anyone who wants to give clothing to us. I just took a full car load of clothing to our center in Ashdod, and the bags keep on coming.

The exciting news for May is we have just joined with Love for the Needy in Kfar Saba and now have SIX compassion centers in Israel!!! This center has been opened from 1997 and needed someone to help it stay opened. We are happy to come along side them and help.

Purim Outreach in Karmiel

2011-03-27T10:50:00.000-07:00

Tivat Yacov, together with Rivers of Living Water Congregation in Karmiel, Israel, sponsored an outreach for the less fortunate children in that community. Many of the parents and grandparents who come to our monthly food outreach, were able to bring their children and grandchildren, 140 children in all, to receive Mishloch Manot (gift bags), who most likely would not receive anything like this otherwise. These gift bags are traditionally given out in Israel during Purim because of Esther 9:19;

"This is why the Jews of the villages, those who live in unwalled towns, make the 14th day of the month of Adar, a day for celebrating, and rejoicing. A holiday and a time for sending each other portions of food."

In addition to the gift bags, the night was filled with entertainment, including performances by many of the children from the congregation and biblical messages of God's love.

Announcing Our Fifth Center in Kiryat Shmona

2011-02-10T23:28:00.000-08:00

Jacob's Hope would like to announce our fifth compassion center in Israel, located in Kiryat Shmona. This center is being run in partnership with a small branch of Rivers of Living Water located in this city. Kiryat Shmona, with a population that is 98% Jewish, is located in Northern Israel, along the Lebanon boarder and has been a major target for missile attacks. During the 2006 Lebanon War, a total of 1,012 Katyusha rockets hit Kiryat Shmona.

The small congregation located here has dedicated itself to helping the needy people in this area and is already giving out over 600 bags of food a month in partnership with the Joshua Fund. Jacob's Hope will be providing the funds for this compassion center to pay their rent and monthly bills, so that they can continue distributing this food, along with clothing and other household items.

The Orde Wingate Children's Village

2011-01-14T05:33:00.000-08:00

by Judith

Today I had an amazing opportunity to go to Yemin Orde. Over 40% of the children's village was destroyed in the recent Carmel fire. Many of the staff houses need to be rebuilt as well as some the children's dorms. The Library and Recreational room were also completely burnt and need to be rebuilt.

Jacob’s Hope teamed up with InShiloh Ministries and Zion’s Sake Messianic Congregation in Newport News VA, to make a donation to help the children’s village rebuild and resume operations. The village receives 65% of its annual budget from the Israeli government, while the rest comes from private donors, largely in the United States and United Kingdom. Although some of the rebuilding will be paid for by insurance, this money is slow in coming and there are many additional costs that need immediate attention.

A few things really stood out for me on how God's hand was on this place during the fire. First, the fire surrounded the synagogue at the village but it was completely untouched! Unbelievable!

Second, a few months ago they dedicated a building that was donated from people in England. It was also untouched. The amazing thing about this is that this building is where the specialty doctor is going to council these children. Many of these children come from very hard backgrounds and need a psychologist or a psychiatrist to talk too, especially after the fire took what little these children had. Now they have a place where they can get the help they need.

Third, the girl’s dorms, a building named Noam, which was built by parents of a girl whom was lost in a terrorist attack a few years back. The fire did not burn it, although the boy's dorm, right next door, is gone. I am amazed how God cares so much for the parents of this girl. Her memory will live on and they won't have to go through the loss all over again.

Forth, the school was also untouched, so the children were able to return to school last week.

But the best thing of all was meeting the lady that took me around the village. She was so thankful for the donation and I believe that we will work together to rebuild Yemin Orde.

For more information on Yemin Orde, click here.

New Opportunities in 2011

2011-01-01T02:16:00.000-08:00

2011 is here, and with the New Year there are new opportunities to serve God in Israel. On December 25, 2010, Jacob's Hope held their monthly food distribution with Rivers of Living Water Congregation in Karmiel, Israel. This month we had 250 families sign up. Although, each month more and more families come for food, our funding for this project remains the same. Each bag we gave away this month (approximately $8 of food per bag) is only half the size of the bags we started giving away just over a year ago (approximately $15 per bag). Each bag comes with a card saying the food is being supplied by Christians in America who want to bless the people in Israel. Please consider donating to this project by designating your contribution to the Karmiel Food Project, so that we can truly bless these needy people.

In addition to each bag of food we gave away, Bibles and DVDs were made available for the taking. Approximately 40 of the 500 people who attended the optional service, stayed afterward to ask questions. A truly amazing work is being done in this city, despite the limited funds.

Another opportunity to give is in Ashdod, where we just moved our center to a larger, more prominent location in the country's fifth largest city. This new space will not only increase the traffic to our store, but will allow the space to have job training on computers, and language classes for new immigrants. But with this new larger space comes the need for more funds to make the necessary renovations. We need approximately $3,500 to fix the electricity and lighting, fix and paint the walls, clean up and fix the bathroom, move and install the shelves and heating/air conditioning unit from the old store. Additional funds are also need to repair the floor and purchase equipment for job training. Please consider donating to get this center up and running by designating your donation to the Ashdod Project.

Also, please don't forget to support our family in Israel, without whom none of these projects would be possible. This family moved to Israel with their own funds and is doing much of this work on a volunteer basis because we don't have the funds to pay them a full time salary. Please consider donating to keep our Israel compassion team, and therefore keep Jacob's Hope's operations in Israel.

Ma'alot Center Opens to Public

2010-12-05T04:51:00.000-08:00

Today, December 5, 2010, our new center in Ma'alot opened it's doors to the public at 10AM, Jerusalem time. As we arrived at the center shortly before 10AM, there was already a small crowd gathered in expectation of our opening. Over 20 families were blessed in the short 2 hour period we were open this morning, including a mother of 11 children, with the 12th on the way.
Some local residents also came by just to see what we were all about, and upon hearing that we were giving away clothing, and blankets, many offered to bring items they had and were no longer in need of. It's great to see those in the community supporting one another. One man even brought in two blankets to give away this morning.
Customers were limited to 3 kilos of clothing, one blanket and a new pair of Crocs, which are perfect for the climate in Israel.
It was exciting to see how grateful everyone was for everything they were receiving. We were repeatedly told how thankful everyone was, and how appreciative they were of the high quality of clothing. In the next few days we will also have a food distribution in Ma'alot, where we will be giving out bags of food to 10-20 needy families.

Ashdod Center is Moving

2010-11-21T07:33:00.000-08:00

It was a long tedious process, but we finally signed the new lease today and we'll be moving to a larger store front, with lower rent, in a better location!

Three months ago, while Jeff, Jeff and Chris (Jacob's Hope team members from the States) were all in Israel, we all went to visit our center in Ashdod. We were serving between 30 and 50 families a month from a small store front in a secluded location. We had thought that once word got out that we were giving clothing to needy people, the location wouldn't be an issue, especially since we were located in a poor area. However, I don't think word got out beyond the immediate surrounding area.

The congregation we are working with in Ashdod is also distributing food, in conjunction with the municipality, at another location. It came to our attention, during our visit, that a store front was available near their food distribution site. When we went to investigate, a neighbor of theirs showed us his store. He told us he was moving out and that his store, which was much larger than the other store we were looking at and would be available for a very reasonable price. We were immediately interested.

Everything seemed to be in place and I returned to Ashdod a month and a half later to sign the lease. I meet the landlord's lawyer, and that's when things started to go wrong. The lawyer did not like that her client was going to rent to a non-profit organization, because if something were to happen to the store, or we were to stop paying rent, there would be very little recourse for our landlord to take. She asked us to get a bank guarantee to assure her client would be paid. A very standard arrangement in Israel.

The next day I left for the States and we agreed to meet again when I got back two weeks later. When I got back, I asked our lawyer to contact their lawyer to work out the details of the bank guarantee and a few days later we were ready to schedule a meeting... then scheduling became an issue... getting a bank guarantee became an issue... my contact, from the congregation in Ashdod, went out of the country for a week... the landlord decided she didn't want to rent to us because I didn't live in Ashdod and it was to hard to schedule to see me... my contact returned... we were able to schedule an appointment for today, but I was still having trouble getting the bank to give me a guarantee.

This morning before our appointment, I was at the bank... our lawyer on the phone with me... I brought papers... the lawyer faxed more papers... the director who lives in the States needed to sign a paper?!? Maybe we could transfer the money to my personal account and I could personally guarantee the money... we made the transfer... they needed my wife to come in and sign... she was at home sick in bed with the flu... we transferred the money back... the lawyer faxed more paper... three hours later, with the bank guarantee in hand, I headed off to Ashdod to sign the agreement! An hour and a half later, and two and a half hours after our originally scheduled meeting, I was in Ashdod signing the papers.

The Ashdod center is moving, finally.

Newest Center in Maalot

2010-10-07T01:18:00.000-07:00

Tikvat Yakov is excited to announce plans to open a new compassion center in Maalot, our fourth compassion center in Israel. We are again partnering with Rivers of Living Water in Karmiel to operate this center. Rivers of Living Water has a small sister congregation in Maalot who will also be able to use this space for their weekly meetings.

As you can see by the map, Maalot is located in Northern Israel, by the Lebanon border, and has often been one of the many targets in Northern Israel for rockets fired from Hizbullah in Lebanon. Nearly 700 Katyusha rockets fell in or around the city in the Second Lebanon War in 2006.

The following information about Maalot is from Wikipedia:

Maalot is residence to approximately 21,000 people, almost 80% of which is Jewish and 20% Arab (10% Christian Arabs, 9% Muslim Arabs and 1% Druze). In the early 2000s, 52% of the population were Russian immigrants and 36% of the population was under 20 years of age.

As of 2000, CBS reported there were 6,931 salaried workers and 408 self-employed persons in the city (70% of men and women between age 20 and 60). The mean monthly wage in 2000 for a salaried worker was NIS 4,435, or $1,082 (New Israeli Shekel, in 2000 approx. 4.1 shekels to 1 US dollar, currently approx. 3.6 shekels to 1 US dollar), a real change of 7.0% over the course of 2000. Salaried men had a mean monthly wage of NIS 5,652 or $1,379 (a real change of 9.9%) versus NIS 3,073 or $750 for women (a real change of 2.0%). The average monthly income for the self-employed was NIS 6,320 or $1,541. There were 559 people who received unemployment benefits (5.3% of men and women between age 20 and 60), and 1,785 people who received an income guarantee.

Shannah Tovah!

2010-09-09T04:46:00.000-07:00

One year ago, Jacob's Hope had their first event in Israel, a food distribution for Rosh HaShannah in Karmiel, where we gave away bags of food to feed over 60 families in need. This year in Karmiel, we gave away bags of food to over 200 families in need for Rosh HaShannah, in Ashdod we gave food to another 50 families in need and in Tel Aviv another 30 families in need.

In addition to giving away bags of food, we have been able to work with the Joseph Project in Israel to give away clothing and household goods to these needy families in Ashdod and Tel Aviv.

On September 2, 2010, Jacob's Hope along with Convoy of Hope, delivered our first first 40 foot container of humanitarian aid to Israel. Items such as clothing, shoes, diapers and medical supplies to help hundreds of needy people in the land.

In Addition to the three centers we already have open, we are committed to opening at least three more centers in the next year. We are currently looking at places in Jerusalem, Ma'alot, Eilat and Ashkelon.

The Thunder Rolls...

2010-09-03T09:09:00.001-07:00

The Jacob's Hope team is in Israel, and we're making noise. Saturday August 28 we had a food distribution in Karmiel, along with Rivers of Living Water, where we were able to give bags of food to over 200 needy Russian Israeli families. While we were there the team was able to make new contacts in Israel and Ukraine, and plan new projects with the leadership from Rivers of Living Water, to help even more needy Jewish people.

On Tuesday we were able to join some of our Associates on a trip to Sderot and Ashkelon. It was heartbreaking to see the 500 used missile casings that landed in Sderot in the last year, knowing that this has been a quiet year. In years past, over 100 missiles have been shot at this small town, within one kilometer of Gaza, in a single day.

We visited the Sderot Indoor Rec Center, located in a large bomb shelter, that was built by the Jewish National Fund. Again, it was heartbreaking to see children having to play in a bomb shelter because the playgrounds outside are unsafe. I cannot imagine having to raise my own children in those conditions.

In Ashkelon we visited the Barzilai Medical Center. Since new, longer-range missiles are now being smuggled into Gaza, this Hospital is vulnerable to attack. During times of heavy rocket fire, most of the Hospital has to be evacuated. However, due to funds raised by John Hagee Ministries and The Jewish Federation of Greater Houston, a new Cardiac Department was built and a new sheltered emergency room is being built at this facility.

Although Jacob's Hope has not been involved with raising funds for these particular projects, we think it's important for our supports to know about some of the great work other organizations are doing in Israel and that we are always looking to partner with other organizations doing humanitarian work in the Land.

More about the rest of our work this week and future projects coming soon, in our next post...

The Quiet Before the Storm

2010-08-01T04:54:00.000-07:00

Other than buying a new air conditioner for our Ashdod store front, all has been quiet as we reach the middle of the summer. I am continuing to pay bills and work on the never ending legal issues in Israel while our distribution centers in Ashdod and Tel Aviv are continuing to give out food and clothing, and our center in Karmiel is handing out food bags every other month to 200 families. However, we are looking to make a splash at the end of August as Jacob's Hope is shipping its first container to Israel. Jeff Friedman, head of Jacob's of Hope World Missions, is coming to Israel with a few of our new members and supporters. We are hoping to film some of the activity at our distribution centers, as well the unloading of the container so you all can get a look at everything we are doing. Also, for the first time since we opened our center in Tel Aviv, we are looking to expand our activity in Israel, thanks to the generous support you all continue to give, even in these tough times.

Ashdod

2010-05-31T23:22:00.001-07:00

I had been planning a trip to Ashdod on May 31, but when I found out about the Floatilla ships that were being redirected to Ashdod, I was a little hesitant to go. However, after I was assured, by my friends in Ashdod, that this would not affect my visit, I continued as planned. Currently, our distribution center in Ashdod is only giving out clothing because the congregation that we are working with there is giving out food at another location. They are able to give food to over 600 families, including Holocaust survivors and single mothers. Although they are able to do a great work at that location, it is still not enough, and they are not able to help many families in need. Because of the relatively low cost involved with running the center at this location I was able to give them money on the spot to start giving food away at our location as well. The number of families we will be able to help won't be anyway near the number of families being helped at their other location, but we will be helping those families that often get overlooked; families with short-term needs and families that are still in the process of signing-up for government aid (everything takes time in Israel, nothing happens quickly).
Meanwhile, I have been busy trying to take care of the administrative nightmare that is running a non-profit in Israel. Please pray that God's hand will be in the legal and administrative processes of this organization so that we are able to accomplish what He has appointed for us at this time.

A Growing Need

2010-04-16T01:36:00.000-07:00

On March 20, about a week before Passover, Rivers of Living Water held a special event to give food to 147 needy families in Karmiel. Although we had hoped to provide these families with items that were kosher for Passover, the expense of these items, in combination with the growing number of families looking for support, exceeded our budget. However, we were able to provide all of these families with bags of food, along with twelve additional Ethiopian families that we delivered the bags to. Originally, we had planned to distribute food on a monthly basis, but we now have close to 200 needy families who we have been able to sign-up for aid. Unitl we can increase our funding, or help get these families other sources of income, we will have to cut back our events to once every other month. However, many hearts are opening up as we continue to provide aid. These families want to know more about the people that are showing they care about them when no one else does.

2009 to 2010 Pictures

2010-03-13T08:56:00.001-08:00

An Unofficial Opening

2010-02-28T10:44:00.000-08:00

Last week, on February 21, Agape held one final work day in order to open their humanitarian aid center, a joint effort with Tikvat Yacov. Everything was cleaned, new shelves were built, old shelves were extended, clothes were unpacked, folded and neatly placed on shelves and food bags were prepared for distribution.

This week, on February 28, Agape, in partnership with Tikvat Yacov, unofficially opened their doors to the public. So what is an "unofficial opening?" That simply means that next month we will be having an official grand-opening event, but that we aren't going to wait that long to open our doors and help those in need. Tonight, we had a small gathering of those involved in opening the center to pray over the new manager and volunteers as well as say "thank you" to all those who put in their time and effort to make our work in Tel Aviv a reality.

With that being said, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all the donors, workers and volunteers who are still Stateside that have helped to make Tikvat Yacov a success in Israel, now with two fully operational humanitarian centers. May the Lord bless you as you have blessed Israel!

Ashdod

2010-02-03T01:04:00.000-08:00

The work continues in Ashdod with our distribution center now fully up and running. We even received a certificate of appreciation for the work we are doing from a local daycare for children of single parents. Serval large boxes of clothing have already been distributed to over 50 local families.

As work continues in Ashdod, we are preparing to open the center in Tel Aviv. I will post details about the Tel Aviv Grand Opening as they become available.

Check out the pictures from my latest visit to Ashdod:

And also of the progress in Tel Aviv:

Ethiopian Jews

2010-02-02T23:16:00.000-08:00

On January 22, 2010, Rivers of Living Water, with funds provided by Tikvat Yacov, held a special food distribution targeting Ethiopian Jews in Israel. Although many of these Jews came to Israel almost two decades ago, they are still having trouble integrating into Israeli society. As I learned, moving to Israel in July of last year, moving from your native country, your home, to a completely different culture, especially without knowing the language upon arrival, is very difficult and frustrating. Adding to that difficulty is the fact that many of these Jews were separated from family members, many are sick or elderly and many have little education. Many of these Jews were farmers in Ethiopia, but lack the knowledge or resources for modern farming.
Centuries of anti-Semitism and war almost completely wiped out the Ethiopian Jews, who were estimated to have once numbered around 500,000. However, upon arriving in Israel, their persecution did not end, with many orthodox Jews questioning their Jewry and even calling for them to be “re-circumcised.”
Because of their History, many of these Ethiopian Jews are very skeptical of any help that is offered to them and the turn out was relatively low compared with previous efforts, with only 30, or so, families receiving food bags. Many even refused to have their picture taken by me while receiving their bags of food. However, Zechariah teaches us not to despise small beginnings, and we will continue to reach out to this community.
For more information about Ethiopian Jews, click on the links below.
A BBC News article on Ethiopian Jews:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/524662.stm
A brief history of Ethiopian Jews:
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/ejhist.html
Wikipedia article on Ethiopian Jews (Beta Israel):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta_Israel

Coming Soon...

2009-12-31T07:07:00.000-08:00

Tikvat Yacov's Ashdod Distribution Center -
All the major rennovations are complete and as you can see, boxes of humanitarian aid have begun to arrive. We have clothing, blankets, pillows and even a few toys to give to those in need. We just need to take care of a few more minor details before we open our doors to the public.

Happy Hanukkah

2009-12-28T23:08:00.000-08:00

Just before Hanukkah, Tikvat Yacov was able to enter into a partnership with Agape, in Tel Aviv, to open up our second center in Israel. Agape had been running a distribution center in Tel Aviv but their work was significantly diminished when their landlord decided not to renew their lease. Although they continued to distribute some food packages from an administrative office, they could not afford to open a full distribution center due to the high rents in Tel Aviv. Fortunately, we connected with Agape through a mutual friend and easily reached an agreement to renew their work in Tel Aviv. Although the initial location we had chosen fell through, we were able to find another location where, amazingly, both the head of Agape and I know the owner.

In Ashdod, renovations to our center have been completed and I will be heading down there this week to transfer all the utilities from the owner. I will post pictures as soon as I am able.

In addition to our two centers, our partnership with Rivers of Living Water continues in Karmiel. We had a food distribution for Hanukkah on December 12 and are planning another food distribution targeted for Ethiopian Jews living in Karmiel in January.

Work To Be Done

2009-11-21T02:10:00.000-08:00

Tikvat Yacov is continuing its efforts to open distribution centers in Israel and is proud to announce a new partnership with congregation Beit Halel in Ashdod. This week we have signed an agreement to lease a property in downtown Ashdod for our first distribution center in Israel. Ashdod is on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, about a half hour drive South of Tel Aviv and is currently the fifth largest city in Israel with approximately 240,000 residents. Ashdod is an up and coming city in Israel, attracting many people who work in Tel Aviv, but can't afford to live in that city.
Along with this new partnership there comes a great amount of work to be done. I have meetings scheduled with lawyers and accountants to iron out the remaining details of operating a non-profit organization in Israel. We have hired contractors to do necessary renovations to the store-front we are renting and hired a manager from the congregation.
Meanwhile, we are still looking at other opportunities in Tel Aviv and Eilat. Additionally, Rivers of Living Water has scheduled another food distribution for Hanukkah in early December.

The Work Continues

2009-10-11T01:56:00.001-07:00

On Saturday, October 10, 2009, Tikvat Yacov, along with, and through the efforts of Rivers of Living Water in Karmiel, was able to distribute another 90 bags of food to families in need. It is truly amazing to see exactly how much food is required to produce these 90 bags. We had 5 shopping carts overloaded with cases of pasta, tomato sauce, corn, oil, tuna, sugar, soup, crackers and tea.

Although we have been purchasing this food, at a discount, from a local supermarket, Irene Friedman, from Rivers of Living Water, has secured the services of a food distributor so that we will be able to acquire even more food to distribute as we continue our efforts in Karmiel.

In addition to our work in Karmiel, we are in the process of securing a humanitarian aid center in Eliat, where there are a large number of single mothers and new immigrants, who have been attracted to the area by the low cost of living and employment opportunities in the Hotel industry.

There have also been a number of other opportunities for Tikvat Yacov to open additional centers in Ashdod, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, but we have been limited by the amount of funding available. We have meetings scheduled in these three cities to determine how we can best provide in these areas with the limited resources we currently have available.

72 Bags of Food Distributed

2009-09-14T04:23:00.000-07:00

Tikvat Yacov's first offical event in Israel was a complete success, thanks to Seva & Irene Friedman, along with their congregation, Rivers of Living Water in Karmiel.

Seventy-two families received a food bag containing; wheat flour, white sugar, white rice, noodles, tomato sauce, canned corn, tuna, pickles, oil, tea and napkins.

The evening began with some entertainment, which was provided by some of the youth at Rivers of Living Water Congregation. There was also a puppet show, featuring a donkey, who found out he is exactly who God made him to be.

After the entertainment had ended, families were asked to line-up at various tables where the food bags were distributed. Familes were asked to provide identification numbers to ensure the food was being distributed properly. There was also plenty of apples and honey to enjoy while everyone waited their turn.

Tikvat Yacov, along with Rivers of Living Water, will be holding these events in Karmiel on a monthly basis. Each bag cost appoximately $12.50 USD to make, and provides a family of four with one meal, plus food staples, such as flour, sugar, rice and oil. Please consider making a monthly pledge to Tikvat Yacov to provide a bag of food each month for a needy family in Israel. Donations can be made by clicking on the link to Jacob's Hope (below). Please make sure to designate funds for Israel.

Partnership with "Rivers Of Living Water"

2009-08-31T00:46:00.000-07:00

Tikvat Yacov, Jacob's Hope in Israel, is partnering with Rivers of Living Water in Karmiel, Israel, in order to distribute food to families in need. We will have a special kick-off event a week before Rosh HaShannah, the Jewish New Year. The event is currently scheduled for September 12th at 6 PM (moved up from the 19th), and will include some presentations by Rivers of Living Water before handing out 50 to 100 bags of food. Each family will receive one bag of food, including flour, sugar, rice and other non-perishable staples.